During his years in the White House, Alexander Butterfield served on the staff of H.R. Haldeman and had the title of Deputy
Assistant to the President. He was the chief administrative officer in the White House, and in this capacity he coordinated
or supervised numerous White House operations. Although Butterfield had oversight responsibility for the installation and
operation of the White House taping system, the files do not include information pertaining to it. The files do include references
to his other administrative duties. For additional materials see White House Central Files: Staff Member and Office Files:
Butterfield.

Background

Alexander Porter Butterfield was born in Pensacola, Florida on April 6, 1926. After attending the University of California,
Los Angeles for two years, Butterfield left college to join the United States Navy as a seaman recruit. He eventually earned
a Bachelor of Science degree in 1956 at the University of Maryland and a Master of Science degree in 1967 at George Washington
University. He married Charlotte Mary Maguire in 1949.
Butterfield joined the Air Force in 1948 and went on to serve as an instructor at a U. S. Air Force base near Las Vegas, Nevada
during the early part of the Korean War. Later, he served in Germany. He was Military Assistant to the Special Assistant of
the Secretary of Defense in 1965 and 1966. In 1967-1969, Butterfield was the Senior Military Representative of the United
States; Representative for Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Forces, Australia.
During his time as a student at UCLA, Butterfield had become acquainted with H. R. Haldeman. He contacted Haldeman about job
opportunities in the Nixon administration and eventually joined the White House staff as a Deputy Assistant to the President.
He served the administration from 1969 until he left to work as an administrator at the Federal Aviation Administration in
early 1973.
On July 13, 1973, under direct questioning, Butterfield confirmed the existence of a voice-activated recording system in the
Oval Office to Senate investigators and testified before the Senate investigation committee three days later. He resigned
from the FAA on March 31, 1975. He then worked in the private business sector.

Extent

4 linear feet, 10 linear inches; 11 boxes

Restrictions

Most government records are in the public domain, however, this series includes commercial materials, such as newspaper clippings,
that may be subject to copyright restrictions. Researchers should contact the copyright holder for information.

Availability

Collection is open for research. Some materials may be unavailable based upon categories of materials exempt from public release
established in the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act of 1974.